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Linux on the (consumer) Desktop

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Re: Linux on the (consumer) Desktop

#71

Post by shmerl »

lumberjack wrote: post #34
shmerl wrote: post #15

I think all of this is close to be pointless, when there is an abundant and sickening Windows bundling problem which persists until present day. End users don't care about any ISVs, ABIs and other such matters, and some even don't have a clue about OS names. They buy a computer with an OS preinstalled. And guess what that OS is? That's the problem which needs to be solved first. The rest as the author admits, will be…

Personally I think a greater factor in the prevalence of Windows is the way children in school grow up using it and other MS branded software. Add to that the reputation that Windows has in the corporate enviroment and the inertia of over fifteen years as the status quo and that probably accounts for the majority of why Microsoft dominates these markets. I won't go much into the issue other than say that I find it so…

Yes, MS tries to hook schools early on. But no one stops teachers and school stuff from rejecting MS offers and going with Linux. And it does happen in different places.

Re: Linux on the (consumer) Desktop

#72

Post by ricardobeat »

DeepDuh wrote: post #62
manamana wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The browser icon has changed since: http://elementaryos.org/journal/new-midori-icon-elementary

Oh so instead copying Safari's logo they now copy Firefox? http://elementaryos.org/sites/default/files/user/5/midori.pn... Elementary might have something going on for them but originality is not it apparently.

Yes, it is clearly inspired by OSX, yet you wouldn't mistake the two. If you look at the details (shading, borders, highlights, buttons) it has a different set of standards, some things are closer to KDE's Plasma than Aqua.

Re: Linux on the (consumer) Desktop

#73

Post by sliverstorm »

aerique wrote: post #63
sliverstorm wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like a tiling WM could really benefit from a taskbar-like metaphor. It doesn't have to be precisely a taskbar, but the ability to make this or that application completely invisible without sending it to another virtual desktop is often useful. Perhaps, to stay in keeping with the ability to do everything from the keyboard, treat the "taskbar" like a second stack, only reduced to names instead of shrunken windo…

Check out i3. It can do what you want (if I get what you're writing). I never liked tiling window managers using the master-slave paradigm (like xmonad does) precisely because of the problems you both described. http://i3wm.org/screenshots/ (check the screencast and skip to 2:55 for examples of the different layouts)

Argh. It looks interesting, but the dependencies are killing me; we use an unusual system for managing libraries, and i3 doesn't have a very intelligent config engine...

Re: Linux on the (consumer) Desktop

#74

Post by aerique »

sliverstorm wrote: post #73
aerique wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check out i3. It can do what you want (if I get what you're writing). I never liked tiling window managers using the master-slave paradigm (like xmonad does) precisely because of the problems you both described. http://i3wm.org/screenshots/ (check the screencast and skip to 2:55 for examples of the different layouts)

Argh. It looks interesting, but the dependencies are killing me; we use an unusual system for managing libraries, and i3 doesn't have a very intelligent config engine...

Ah too bad, I wasn't aware of that since I just get it through my package manager.

Re: Linux on the (consumer) Desktop

#75

Post by ekianjo »

gman99 wrote: post #66
willholloway wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have busybox and bash on my android phone, how is it not the same at all? That's why they call it GNU/Linux. Linux is the kernel, and GNU a set of tools and libraries. Right now Android has the Linux part, and the GNU part is increasingly available.

Not that I disagree, but X11 would be nice. Damn I miss my N900/N9....

By the way have you heard about the Linux on Android project on Sourceforge? It enables you to run a linux distro on your Android phone via a chroot hack. Seems to be working very well, but I have not tried yet.

If you miss your N900, you can check what is happening with the Open Pandora device, and use your phone to theter your internet connection to it :)

Re: Linux on the (consumer) Desktop

#76

Post by brdrak »

drblast wrote: post #50

It's fascinating to watch people totally underestimate the lock Microsoft has on the corporate computing environment. This article suggests that it would be easier to break into the business/enterprise desktop than it would be to sell to consumers. It's probably just about the opposite. Linux is many years away from the level of plug-it-in-and-forget-it integration that Windows has. Linux is light years away from hav…

> Linux is light years away from having anything resembling Active Directory in quality.

I'm assuming you've setup OpenLDAP and one of open Kerberos implementations (e.g. MIT) and have found them lacking in some way compared with AD. If so, could you expand on where they were lacking in quality? I have used both and find open alternatives much easier to extend, and not any harder to setup.

Here's an interesting read that argues the opposite of your point: ftp://ftp.uni-duisburg.de/LDAP/Adam-Eval1-0.pdf

Re: Linux on the (consumer) Desktop

#77

Post by takluyver »

shmerl wrote: post #69
takluyver wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In the UK, there are magazines on every shelf in every newsagent pushing Linux and in every PC related stored they are pretty much giving Ubuntu away (yes they even had a box at the checkout in PC World with free CDs - completely untouched). You can buy PC's with it preinstalled and buy PCs with no operating system so you can install it. Is this the same UK I live in? The newsagents I see might have one Linux magaz…

>Many people have heard of it, certainly, but they often have some vague idea that it's a command-line interface for ultra nerdy experts. That's why Android and Ubuntu both avoid using the word 'Linux' in their public branding. That actually is a lack of gratitude and failure to improve Linux image on their part. But I agree with the rest of the above. Removing the bundling won't magically solve all issues, but it's…

> [Avoiding the word Linux] actually is a lack of gratitude and failure to improve Linux image on their part

I don't see it quite like that. Firstly, I'm not sure that the people working on Linux (the kernel) particularly want to be a popular brand - it would mean a deluge of naive questions, apart from anything else.

Secondly, Ubuntu benefits from Linux, GNU tools, X, Gnome, Debian, and many other projects. In techie circles, they readily acknowledge that it wouldn't be possible without the work done in those upstream projects. But trying to fit them into the public branding would confuse users.

Re: Linux on the (consumer) Desktop

#78

Post by shmerl »

takluyver wrote: post #77
shmerl wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Many people have heard of it, certainly, but they often have some vague idea that it's a command-line interface for ultra nerdy experts. That's why Android and Ubuntu both avoid using the word 'Linux' in their public branding. That actually is a lack of gratitude and failure to improve Linux image on their part. But I agree with the rest of the above. Removing the bundling won't magically solve all issues, but it's…

> [Avoiding the word Linux] actually is a lack of gratitude and failure to improve Linux image on their part I don't see it quite like that. Firstly, I'm not sure that the people working on Linux (the kernel) particularly want to be a popular brand - it would mean a deluge of naive questions, apart from anything else. Secondly, Ubuntu benefits from Linux, GNU tools, X, Gnome, Debian, and many other projects. In techi…

For general population, Linux became the name of the whole stack of related technologies rather than the kernel name, so not using it (by Ubuntu at least) is a disservice to everyone involved. I'm OK with Android not using it, since they are too far apart from the rest of the Linux world anyway and aren't benefiting global Linux community much. Just my 2 cents.
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